Community Corner

The New York City Parks Department and Council Member Rory Lancman have teamed up to bring masks to the Kew Gardens Hills community. Packs of five masks at one pack per family were handed out at the Mauro Playground on Park Drive East and 73rd Terrace between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The line may have looked long but was fast moving. The program will resume at this location on Monday, May 11, from 10 a.m. until noon.

On the surface, the days of S’firas HaOmer seem to have two, somewhat contradictory themes: On one hand, it’s a time of mourning when we limit joyous activities, like making a wedding, listening to music, or buying new clothes. On the other hand, the month of Iyar, which sits in the middle of S’firas HaOmer and contains the majority of its days, is a time of great rachamim (compassion) and an influx of Divine healing. The Hebrew letters that spell the month of Iyar are actually an acronym for the phrase “Ani Hashem Rof’echa” – “I am G-d, your Healer” (Sh’mos 15:26).

Those eligible will donate plasma to COVID patients

Am I an eligible recovered coronavirus patient? That was the question on the minds of Queens residents on Monday afternoon, May 4, at a mobile testing center at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills sponsored by the Refuah Health Center in Spring Valley, in conjunction with Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. With the acknowledgement of the medical community that recovered COVID-19 patients’ blood plasma can save lives, and the overall knowledge that our community had many recovered individuals, COVID Plasma Initiative with the help of the Queens Jewish Link, Bukharian Jewish Link, and the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, made an effort to bring a testing site to our neighborhood and allow our friends and neighbors to join the growing community of COVID-19 survivors who have mobilized to fight the virus. Refuah Health began its testing on April 3 and has continuously worked onwards to provide relief.

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

Rabbi Yaakov Eliyahu Menashe ben Rachel

Efrat bas Oshra

More than 1,000 people participated in the Orthodox Union’s Semichas Chaver Program’s (SCP) virtual siyum on Sunday celebrating the completion of Hilchos Shabbos. Participants joined from 54 different Jewish communities on five continents. The siyum featured keynote addresses from Rabbi Hershel Schachter and the Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who, along with Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, are the guiding influence behind SCP.

HaRav Noach Isaac Oelbaum shlita is the rabbi of Khal Nachlas Yitzchok in Kew Gardens Hills and one of the foremost figures on Torah thought in New York. His lessons span the world and are held in the highest regard. Communities throughout the world are struggling to reason with our current predicament amid the pandemic. As Orthodox Jews, we seek to understand Hashem’s master plan and decide how we each fit into its web. HaRav Oelbaum delivered a formidable message to our community, which we bring here.